December: Some Short Stories
Picture by Tibor Kárpáti
One of Saunders’ harsher, non-sci-fi stories in his Tenth of December collection, “Puppy” plays with classism and deranged parenting through chilling free indirect discourse. The story follows the perspectives of two women -- one an elitist, desperate mother, the other a poor, equally desperate mother -- as the former attempts to purchase a puppy, and the latter attempts to sell it to her. Their motives are revealed through an uncensored glimpse into their inner-dialogues with Saunders’ vicious, almost taunting language, and it is quickly revealed through almost unnoticeable perspective shifts that the women are extremely (and unfortunately) similar. Saunders begs the question of what we can convince ourselves of, and what the consequences of such convincing can be.
Illustration by Steve Powers
In Millhauser’s hauntingly imaginative twist on a phenomena that can be interpreted from mid-life crises to addiction, “Miracle Polish” follows the story of a man who accepts a strange product from an elusive, unidentifiable salesman that not only cleans mirrors, but changes what can be seen in them. Through Millhauser’s heartbreaking prose and beautiful imagery, the reader connects deeply with the strange obsession the narrator develops with the polish’s effects on mirrors, and the life he slowly loses because of it. An evocative testimony to aging, obsession, relationships, and self-image, “Miracle Polish” demonstrates the best of Millhauser’s literary skills in a poignant, nerve-racking story.
Ella Gorham, “Protozoa” (2018)
Deservedly featured in the latest edition of The Best American Short Stories, Gorham’s acutely insightful and timely story reveals the overwhelmingly complex social labyrinth thirteen-year-old Noa navigates to gain the approval of her older online friend. Gorham tactfully demonstrates the most current chutes and ladders, real or imagined, that young girls maneuver, the most prominent being the jolting transitions Noa makes daily between the real and online world. Fraught with issues of agency, social defense mechanisms, and self-stylization, “Protozoa” masterfully communicates the shockingly nuanced feminist issues early adolescents wrestle with today.